Happy Thanksgiving

James, Sheryl and baby have just left our flat and Brad is speaking with his family, so I thought this was a perfect time to blog. I woke up early this morning, had coffee with Brad (my favorite) and then began to set out the serving trays. I did still need to run a few errands (purchase candles, a baguette, tea, etc), set the table, clean the flat, plate the appetizers, make the sweet potato puree/gravy and get ready. Everything was moving along fantastic and the table turned out perfect:
The appetizers were tasty too: Cheese Tray, mixed nuts, dried fruit, crackers, veggies, eggplants dip and hot apple pie cider.

Here is Brad making the gravy, I cannot believe he did it in his work clothes:

This is Brad and I having our first Thanksgiving dinner:

Here is the complete menu:
Appetizers:
-3 CheesesApples, Grapes and Pears
-Nuts, Dried Fruit, Crackers and Pumpernickel Rounds
-Eggplant Dip with Veggies
-Hot Apple Pie Cider

Main:
-Turkey and Gravy
-Marinated Carrots
-Yukon Gold, Sweet Potato Puree
-Stuffing
-Cranberry, Cherry & Walnut Marmalade
-Fresh Baguette
-Red Wine

Dessert:
-Chocolate Chip Cookies
-Fruit Loop Rice Crispy Treats
-Dark Chocolate Truffles
-Caramel Popcorn and Candied Walnuts
-Tea and Scotch

We had a great dinner and our TV was working perfectly. Time to clean up and go to bed as I need to wake up early to pick up my mom at the airport!

Thanksgiving Prep/Cooking (Day 4)

I was able to talk Brad into going to work a little later than usual (7:30 AM instead of 6:30 AM), so he could come to the butcher and approve the meat selection with me as I was still unsure and since I do not eat it I figured he would be the right person for the job. Luckily, the shop was on the way to the U-Bahn and not out of the way for Brad. He approved the two turkey breasts I had sen the day before and went off to work. The butcher wrapped them up and I headed home to cook. I decided to make the cranberry, cherry marmalade first, which turned out amazing and I hope everyone enjoys it. The marmalade has fresh cranberries, dried cherries, port, orange zest and walnuts.

Next was the fruit loop rice crispy treats. A few weeks ago, we were having lunch with the couple who is coming over for dinner and James mentioned that he loves fruit loops, but have been unable to find them in Munich. A few days later, I was in the store and saw them, so I purchased a box for Brad as he loves them too. Then, I got to thinking that there had to be a recipe for some type of fruit loop treat and since I was only planning on serving chocolate chip cookies, this would be perfect. These ended up turning out stickier than I had hoped, but still good. Then, I prepared the brine (sage, rosemary, water, brown sugar, lemons oranges etc) for the turkey breasts and placed it back in the refrigerator. The popcorn was a last minute addition as Brad had made some the night before and, instead of snacking on it, I decided to make it into caramel corn. I added nuts to it and it ended up being quite tasty, but I love all popcorn!

The spiced chickpeas did not turn out as well as I had hoped, but oh well. Everything was coming together and Brad insisted on trying everything when he got home. Brad agreed that the chickpeas were not the best and encouraged that I did not serve them, but I may still put them out…stay tuned. Less than twenty-four hours until our first thanksgiving meal, hope it all goes well.

Thanksgiving Prep/Cooking (Day 3)

I was able to get almost all the items I needed for dinner except for the cheeses and puten (turkey) breast. Therefore, I decided to head to Karstadt’s gourmet grocery store and tackle the remaining items. However, I was a little nervous about the cheese counter as I cannot read German (not very well, at least) and was unsure if the ladies would speak any English. Therefore, I did some research online and after writing a long list of cheese varieties/types (both in English and German) I decided to venture out to the store. After circling the store a half a dozen times and walking up to the cheese case at least once and then turning around, I finally got up the courage to ask the large German women, “Sprechen Sie Englisch?” She responded, “a little.” After picking three all by myself and tasting a few others, I decided on an Ubriaco Prosecco Cheese, Truffle Brie, Hirtenkase, Edelpilzkäse and an English hard cheese with a fig topping. After taking care of the cheese plate, I stopped over to the meat counter to see what type of puten they had available. To my surprise, there was nothing and I started to get nervous since this is the main component of the meal. On my way home, I stopped at two butchers and did find something at the second one, but did not purchase it. Hopefully, Brad will be able to come with me tomorrow morning before he goes to work and approve my findings.

After putting all the groceries away, I decided to start making the marinated carrots, eggplant goo dip and cutting the bread for Brad’s stuffing. Now, I have to mention that the only thing Brad requested as a side for our first Thanksgiving dinner was stuffing and I was super nervous that I would mess it up. Being the good wife that I am, I took out a ruler and began to cut twenty-two slices of bread into perfect 5x5 squares. After a few hours of chopping and cooking, the bread was in pans drying out (see picture), and the marinated carrots as well as the eggplant dip were in the refrigerator.

Stuffing Squares = 22 slices of white bread

After admiring my work, I poured myself a glass of wine and thought of all the things I needed to do tomorrow: the cranberry sauce, caramel popcorn, fruit loop rice crispy treats, spicy nuts, buy and brine the turkey breast and arrange flowers. Off to bed, Gute Nacht!

Thanksgiving Prep/Cooking (Day 2)

Its official, Brad broke down and ate McDonald’s breakfast yesterday! See, at the end of our street there is a McDonald’s and when we signed our lease Brad said, lets try to go the whole rotation without ever stepping foot in there. Of course, my response was yes and for some reason I really thought we could do it since we never went to one in San Francisco (not even on Bay to Breakers). But, only after one month and twenty-days, Brad needed to order two sausage breakfast sandwiches (perfect recipe for a hangover). Needless to say we had a wonderful time in Prague and would recommend the city to anyone.

Since everything is closed on Sundays in Munich, I decided to bake the cookie dough in the freezer and make my shopping list for Thanksgiving dinner, which is a task all in itself. Since I still have not mastered the German language, I must write my grocery lists in German and in English as well as do some research on where to find certain items. The cookies ended up turning out really well, but did take forever to make. Our oven is so small that I can only bake five cookies at a time; plus, the first few batches only had two cookies on the sheet as I am still trying to master Celsius. After getting the correct temperature and timing, I was able crank them out with no problem. They actually turned out pretty well and I had to stop Brad from eating them as they were for our dinner Thursday. Off to the grocery store and hopefully I can find everything on my list.

Home from Prague

We just returned home from Prague and had an amazing weekend! On Friday, we arrived at the airport via the S-bahn and as we were coming up the moving stair case, we saw the beginning stages of a Christmas Market with an icing skating rink. I am so excited we found this because my Grandparents are coming on 29.11, but we can only see them at the airport as they are off on a cruise and at least they can see one of the markets. After going through security, which took all of ten minutes we headed to our gate. On the way we discovered the following:

Brad at the Allianz Area, which is a free media center

Ashley getting free Kaffee and heiße Schokolade

Our flight was super quick and we both decided that Prague is our new Los Angeles in terms of weekend getaways. We got our bus/tram tickets and headed for Kristin’s place. I was not sure how much I would remember, but as soon as we got off the tram near Kristin’s flat it all came back to me. Good thing it did as I forgot to print the map she provided us. After settling in and having a few cocktails, we headed to dinner. Originally, we planned to walk there, but it began to rain. Kristin picked an amazing restaurant, which could have been placed anywhere in San Francisco and it was reasonably priced. We all really enjoyed our dishes and had a wonderful evening.

On Saturday, we woke up and Kristin’s husband made us breakfast. Afterwards, Brad and I got ready, quickly decided our game plan and headed off to the Prague Castle. With our map in hand, we figured out how to get there (kind of) and had a wonderful time getting to the castle which sits on top of the city and has spectacular views. After walking around the grounds, we decided to challenge the 287 steps located in the Great South Tower of the Chapel. Even though I promised myself I would never do this again, I really wanted Brad to see the view from up there as it is breathtaking. I must admit this time around was far more enjoyable as the tower was quiet and not crowded. The last time I did it was in May (during the height of tourist season) and you had to climb on the inside as people were coming down on the outer part of the steps. Therefore, you were climbing with just your toes on the littlest part of the step and could not stop to look out the windows, not fun at all. Whereas this time we were able to have the entire tower pretty much to ourselves and did not feel rushed. Here is a photo of me about to climb up.

Photo from the top of the tower – beautiful

After our huge climb, we decided to walk over the Famous Charles Bridge and grab lunch.
Kristin recommended a vegetarian restaurant and I am so glad she did as it was fantastic. Plus, we would have never found it on our own. Afterwards, we headed to the famous clock tower and on the way stopped at the Havelske Trziste Market located in the city center. We arrived at the tower a little before three and did not have to wait long in order to see it chime. However, in the middle of it Brad mentioned that this would be the time to get the video camera out. But by the time I did, it was over. So we decided to walk around and wait until four o’clock. After walking around the square and taking some pictures we decided it was time to grab some beers and warm up. Luckily we found a spot right across the way from the clock and it had heat lamps. While we waited we saw: several vendors coming into the beer tent trying to sell these weird looking bracelets, the “give a hug” people from Munich were there, a round bike with eight people on it and a bride in a horse carriage waving like she was Ms America. It was really fun to watch all of this transpire.

Prague

Yesterday was my last day of German class and I am kind of sad it is over. I really liked that I had some structure to my day, but not sure how I would pull off making Thanksgiving Dinner next week if I still were in school. Afterwards, some of the ladies from my book club wanted to meet for coffee at Kafer, a famous place in Munich that has a high end restaurant upstairs and a café, bakery, grocery store downstairs. This place is amazing and I will definitely be bringing my mom here for lunch or afternoon dessert. Also, I guess celebrities hang out here as well and if you visit on a Saturday or Sunday you will always see paparazzi. It was a lovely afternoon and I ended up not getting home until 6 PM.

We are leaving for Prague this afternoon and I am so excited to see Kristin and show Brad one of my favorite places. I think he will really enjoy it as I believe Prague to be one of the most picturesque cities (yes, San Francisco is up there too). I am not looking forward to climbing those steps again in the Prague Castle, but if my husband wants to I will. On my last visit to Prague, MJ and I tackled these stairs (all 287 of them) and I thought I was going to die and vowed never to do it again. I guess we will see what happens. The only thing that I am worried about is that it may rain all weekend and that will not be good for sightseeing.

vermisse euch alle. – die Gauntletts

Final Exam

Just got my final back and I did better than I thought I would on the speaking part. Overall I got a 2, which in Germany is a B. I am pretty happy with it and do feel that I learned a lot in the class. Even though the first week was extremely difficult, I am really glad I took the course. I will be taking a break from the intensive German course for now, but plan to do Rosetta Stone everyday for at least two hours and then come Spring enroll in another course. Overall, it was a great learning experience and I am excited to continue to learn a new language.

vermisse euch alle. – die Gauntletts